Italy’s Landi climbs individual podium for 1st time

Twenty-year-old Vanessa Landi of Italy beat 2013 World Archery Champion Maja Jager in four sets, 6-2, to collect the recurve women’s bronze medal at the Shanghai stage of the 2018 Hyundai Archery World Cup circuit, the first individual international podium of her career.

“This is my first individual final and I’m really excited because I won it at the first event of the year,” said Vanessa. “I looking forward to the rest of the season and seeing what else it brings.”

Landi qualified 38th with 637 points, just two places behind Jager who scored 642.

She took the lead in their bronze final after the first set, 2-0, then lost the second with 24 to Jager’s 27 points. Landi won the last two with a pair of 28s.

“I have a team gold from the youth championships in Rosario, Argentina in 2017 and a silver [in the mixed team] with Mauro Nespoli from the 2017 Hyundai Archery World Cup Final in Rome, but nothing individually until today,” she said.

“I’m learning every day. There’s still more to improve but right now I’m just thinking about this win,” she said.

To make the bronze medal match, Landi beat Nerea Lopez Sanchis, 6-0; Kato Ayano, Lee Eun Gyeong and World Archery Champion Ksenia Perova, all three, 6-4; and Lei Chien-Ying, 7-1, before losing in the semis against Olympic Champion Chang Hye Jin, in a double shoot-off.

The first stage of the Hyundai Archery World Cup takes place in Shanghai, China on 23-29 April.